Karolina Kózka (2 August 1898 – 18 November 1914) was a sixteen-year old

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

victim of a sex attack and murder. Prior to that she was known locally for her strong faith and her eagerness to catechize her neighbours and children. Kózka is often referred to as the "Polish

Maria Goretti Maria Teresa Goretti (; 16 October 1890 – 6 July 1902) was an Italian virgin martyr of the Catholic Church, and one of the youngest saints to be canonized. She was born to a farming family. Her father died when she was nine, and the family ...

" due to the manner of her death. Kózka's death caused great public outrage against Russians since a Russian soldier was believed to have attacked and killed her. Three thousand people flocked to her funeral and called for her

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...

cause to be introduced as she died defending her virginity. The cause formally commenced in the 1950s and culminated in 1987 with

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

beatifying her in independent

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Life

Karolina Kózka was born on 2 August 1898 in a hamlet near the village of Zabawa,

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

, at that time occupied by

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. She was the fourth of eleven children born to peasant farmers, Jan Kózka and Maria Borzęcka. She was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

on 7 August at the local parish church of Saint John the Baptist. Her childhood was spent on the family farm. From 1906 until 1912 she attended the local primary school and had further part-time schooling from 1912 to 1913. She would often gather neighbours and relatives and invite them to read the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

together under a

pear tree Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the pomaceous fruit of the sa ...

near her home. Kózka loved reciting the

rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

using beads her mother had given her. She would fall asleep praying to

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

. Kózka would pray on her long walk to

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

. Her uncle Franciszek Borzęcki was an inspiration to her and she would help him in his role of librarian. She also helped out teaching the

catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...

to children of the parish. During

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

she would lead her family in singing about the Passion of the Lord and at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

would intone carols. Some of the villagers referred to her home as "the little church". Kózka received her

First Communion First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communion (ot ...

in 1907. She was

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on of hands. Catholicis ...

on 18 May 1914. She is said to have had a particular devotion to the Mother of God evidenced by her custom to recite the rosary deep into the night. In 1914 with the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Russian forces began occupying Polish towns and cities under Austrian rule and in mid-November entered Wał-Ruda. Tensions grew as stories swirled about soldiers looting and raping women which exacerbated fear in the area. At the start of the occupation a Russian soldier come to the Kózka farm but he left after he was offered a meal.

Abduction and murder

On 18 November 1914 at around 9.00 in the morning an armed Russian soldier came to the house asking questions about Austrian forces before ordering Kózka and Karolina to accompany him to the commanding officer. When the pair and the soldier reached the edge of the forest the soldier ordered the father to return home. Kózka agreed and abandoned his 16 year old daughter to the rapist. Two nearby Polish men, Franciszek Zaleśny and Franciszek Broda, hid in the bushes watching the soldier assault Karolina. From their account, the soldier attempted to force himself upon her but she struggled and thwarted his attempted rape. Enraged, the soldier then stabbed her with his

bayonet A bayonet (from Old French , now spelt ) is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , now spelt ) is a knife, dagger">knife">-4; we might wonder whethe ...

multiple times. She managed to escape and ran some 800 meters towards nearby swamps which saved her from further attacks. The soldier saw her fall and gave up the chase believing her to be dead. Since he had slit Karolina's carotid artery, she soon bled to death in the swamps, some time before 9.40. Her body was not found until December 4, 1914. Karolina was buried on December 6, with around 3000 people attending her funeral. Kosciol Trojcy Zabawa

According to Rozalia Łazarz, a nurse present at her autopsy, Karolina died a virgin. Her remains were relocated on 18 March 1987 beneath the main altar of the Zabawa parish church, at the behest of the Bishop of Tarnów. The site where she died is marked with a cross. On 18 June 1916 a monument was erected in her honour by the Zabawa church.

Beatification

The beatification process opened in Tarnów diocese with an informative process on 11 February 1965. On 30 June 1986 her beatification received papal approval after Pope John Paul II confirmed that Kózka was killed "in defensum castitatis" – in defence of

chastity Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains from sexual activity that is considered immoral or from any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for exampl ...

– and beatified her in Tarnów while visiting Poland on 10 June 1987.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle

Saints SQPN

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kózka, Karolina 1898 births 1914 deaths People murdered in 1914 20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 20th-century venerated Christians 20th-century Polish women Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Female murder victims Deaths by stabbing in Poland Incidents of violence against girls Child murder in Poland People from Tarnów County People murdered in Poland Polish beatified people Polish murder victims Roman Catholic child blesseds Virgin martyrs Children killed in World War I Child sexual abuse in Poland Sexual violence in World War I World War I crimes by the Russian Empire